Professional-grade closed-cell foam mounting tape — the VHB type used in automotive trim — is the most reliable way to fix a dash cam to a windscreen or dashboard. Done properly, with clean surfaces and the right tape, it holds through summer heat, winter cold, and motorway vibration without leaving residue when you eventually remove it. The included suction mount that comes with most dash cams is usually the weakest link; the tape mount is the upgrade.
Why suction mounts fail (and tape doesn't)
Most dash cams ship with a suction-cup bracket. Suction relies on a vacuum seal against a smooth surface — which sounds fine until the windscreen gets warm. At around 50–60 °C inside a parked car in summer, the cup softens, the seal breaks, and the dash cam ends up on your dashboard. In UK winters, the opposite happens: the rubber stiffens and the cup pops loose from the thermal shock of a cold morning followed by a heated screen.
Professional foam mounting tape works differently. The adhesive bonds chemically to the substrate rather than relying on atmospheric pressure, so heat and cold affect it far less. A quality acrylic foam tape rated for automotive use maintains its grip from around -40 °C up to 120 °C — well outside anything a car interior reaches in normal UK conditions.
Choosing the right tape for the job
Not all double-sided tape is the same, and this is where most DIY dash cam mounts fail. The thin, shiny tape that comes pre-applied to some cheap brackets is usually low-grade acrylic with minimal foam core. It looks similar to professional tape but has a fraction of the holding power.
What you want is a closed-cell acrylic foam tape — the kind used in automotive manufacturing to bond trim, badges and body panels. It has a visible foam carrier (usually grey, black or white) sandwiched between two adhesive layers. The foam layer does two things: it conforms to slight surface irregularities, and it absorbs vibration so the bond isn't constantly being stressed by road noise and engine vibration.
For a dash cam — which is a relatively light object — you don't need a huge pad. A 25 mm × 25 mm square of quality mounting tape is typically more than adequate. The surface prep matters far more than the area of tape used.
Surface prep: the step most people skip
This is the single biggest reason tape mounts fail. Windscreens and dashboards are covered in invisible contamination: finger grease, silicone from dashboard dressings, dust, and the plasticiser oils that migrate out of most interior plastics over time. Apply tape directly to any of these and the bond forms to the contamination layer, not the substrate itself — it'll hold for a few days, then peel.
The correct sequence:
- IPA wipe — Use an isopropyl alcohol (IPA) cleaning wipe to degrease the bonding area completely. Wipe once and let it fully evaporate (30 seconds or so). Don't touch the surface afterwards.
- Adhesion promoter — On dashboards especially, an adhesion-promoter wipe makes a significant difference. Dashboard plastics are often low-surface-energy materials (PP or ABS) that naturally resist bonding. An adhesion primer chemically activates the surface so the tape adhesive has something to grip at a molecular level. Apply it, let it go tacky (about 60 seconds), then apply the tape.
- Apply and press firmly — Press the tape down with thumb pressure for a full 30 seconds. The adhesive needs initial pressure to wet out onto the surface properly.
- Wait before loading — Leave the bonded mount for at least an hour before attaching the dash cam. Full cure for most acrylic foam tapes is 24–72 hours; the bond strengthens considerably over the first day.
The kits we supply at Spyder Tape include both an IPA wipe and an adhesion-promoter wipe, because we've found that skipping either step is the most common reason a mount comes loose. Surface prep isn't optional — it's what makes the bond.
Mounting to a windscreen vs mounting to a dashboard
Both are viable, but they behave differently.
Windscreen mounting gives you glass, which is a high-energy, easy-to-bond surface. Glass bonds extremely well with acrylic foam tape — clean it properly and the tape will very likely outlast the dash cam itself. The downside is legal: in the UK, you must position the dash cam so it doesn't obstruct the driver's view. The Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations require it to be outside the swept area of the wipers and not in the driver's line of sight. A small patch behind the rear-view mirror is the standard position — it's in the area the mirror already blocks, so it satisfies both rules.
Dashboard mounting is sometimes preferred for smaller cameras or dual-camera setups. The challenge is that dashboard plastic is harder to bond to than glass, especially if it has any texture or has been treated with a silicone-based dashboard polish. Adhesion promoter is non-negotiable here. If the plastic is very heavily textured, the foam tape may not conform fully — in that case, a small adhesive pad or intermediate bracket gives you a flatter bonding surface.
Avoid mounting to tinted film — the tape bonds to the film, not the glass, and when the film eventually lifts at the edges, it takes the mount with it.
Will the tape damage my windscreen or dashboard when I remove it?
Quality acrylic foam tape — the kind sold for automotive applications — is specifically formulated to remove cleanly from glass and painted or moulded plastic surfaces when it's eventually taken off. The key is removing it correctly:
- Use a plastic trim tool or credit card to get under a corner and peel slowly at a low angle (roughly 30–45°). Fast, sharp peeling increases the risk of leaving residue.
- If any adhesive residue remains, a wipe with IPA or a small amount of adhesive remover takes it off without harming the surface underneath.
- On windscreens, a dedicated glass adhesive remover works quickly and safely.
Cheap tape — or tape left in direct sun for several years — is more likely to leave residue behind because the adhesive degrades. This is one of the clearest practical reasons to use professional-grade tape from the start.
What if the dash cam keeps vibrating loose?
If the camera body vibrates against the mount (rather than the mount coming off the surface), the fix is usually the bracket design rather than the tape. Some dash cam mounting brackets have a shallow ball-and-socket joint that loosens over time with road vibration. A small additional piece of foam tape between the camera body and the bracket — acting as a vibration damper — often solves it. This is also worth checking if your footage is shaky despite a solid-feeling mount.
If the entire tape mount is coming away from the surface, revisit your prep steps. The most common culprits are: surface not fully dry when the tape was applied, IPA wiped but adhesion promoter skipped on a plastic dashboard, or the tape pressed down but immediately loaded rather than left to cure.
Common questions
Can I use double-sided tape on any part of the car interior?
Professional foam mounting tape bonds well to glass, painted surfaces, hard ABS and PP plastics, and most automotive interior substrates — provided the surface is clean and you use an adhesion promoter on low-energy plastics. It doesn't bond reliably to flexible soft-touch rubberised dashboards, heavily textured suede-effect panels, or any surface with a silicone-based coating. If in doubt, clean a small test area, apply a tab of tape, and test the bond after 24 hours before committing the full mount.
Is mounting tape legal for dash cams in the UK?
There's no UK law that specifies how a dash cam must be mounted — only where it can be positioned (outside the wiper-swept area, not obstructing the driver's view). Tape mounting is no different legally to using the supplied suction mount; it's the position that matters, not the fixing method. Many installers and professional fitters prefer tape precisely because it's more permanent and less likely to drop unexpectedly.
How much weight can mounting tape hold on a windscreen?
Most consumer dash cams weigh between 80 g and 200 g. A 25 mm × 25 mm pad of quality acrylic foam tape on clean glass has a holding strength that vastly exceeds this — the tape is rated for use in automotive body panel bonding, where loads are far higher. The limiting factor for a dash cam mount is almost always surface prep or bracket design, not the tape's inherent strength.
Originally published at Spyder Tape
